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This article is about the effort of Marriott Hotels to reduce the usage of CO2 in their hotels throughout Europe. This is an ongoing effort of the corporation to remain competitive while protecting the environment. The first phase of the initiative was to install smart metering, high quality data, use of LED lighting and the combined heat and power to monitor energy consumption. Additionally, this initiative will allow associates to track their energy consumption and build awareness among the hotels. This initiative by Marriott hotels could be implemented across all their properties and more hotel leaders should follow this initiative without affecting guests' satisfaction.

This recent article talks about the partnership which was formed due to the recent Marriott International hacking scandal. Cybint, military trained cybersecurity experts, and Routier, a service which provides hotels with engagement, operational and marketing products, have joined forces to prevent such future attacks. Routier co-founder and CEO Gal Bareket states "Our partnership with Cybint and the addition of its cybersecurity educational programming will help secure and protect end users in the wake of the Marriott [International] hacking scandal,". The article further highlights other benefits of this union between Cybint and Routier such as cyber literacy courses and hands on simulator labs for cybersecurity professionals. The article also highlights the prime features and services provided by both Cybint and Routier.

This is a smart move, both from a environmental and a cost cutting perspective as refillable containers will likely reduce costs over the long run. Marriott has been looking at replacing this process for years (Marriott Banning Little Shampoo Bottles By 2020 Associated Press - https://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/marriott-banning-little-shampoo-bottles-2020-n1047116) However, even Marriott admits that it doesn't have the process right yet. There will be a significant impact to smaller operators whom 1) Will be challenged with an additional increase in cost for new dispensary options 2) Have less access to big brand economy of scale purchasing which specialized dispensary products will require. Though this is as a policy almost a foregone conclusion, there seems little doubt that extensive thought has to be put into the impact on operators as a whole, and the customer made cognizant of the fact that costs will rise due to this change.

This article discusses how to stay ahead in the hospitality industry. During a hospitality conference in Las Vegas, leaders in the industry discussed where the industry is going and the power of foresight. Being great at your job is not good enough anymore. Hotels needs to stay ahead of trends and find ways to innovated before guests do. Here are a few ways hotels and hospitality companies could be proactive to stay ahead of the curve. 1) Embrace Innovation: Using Marriott International as an example, they are always thinking outside the box. At their headquarters, they have an innovation lab that constantly manufactures new ideas. Some of their designs features are looking to implement communal rooms. Where guest will share a kitchen, dining room, and lounge areas. 2) Make Technology Your Friend: Whey a company embraces technology, it has the power to take a company to the next level. The issue is that most people don't normally like change and have trouble adapting to new ways. To be ahead of the curve, it is important for hotels to use technology to their advantage. 3) Personalize Employee Communication: Communication is the key to success in any company and in hospitality, it is very important to personalize employee communication. The staff is the backbone to all hotels and communications between management and staff need to stay constant. In today's society, the guests expect to communicate anywhere, anytime and employees are now expecting the same.

In today's world no business entity is impervious to cyber-attacks. Marriot, Hilton and InterContential Hotel Groups were all recently affected by such acts. The traditional cyber-attack method which the hospitality industry employs is oftentimes simply a reaction to the attack- "incident responses". Instead, the industry needs to shift its focus and allocate resources to aid prevention of future of attacks. This new focus was be surrounding tactics, techniques and procedures (TTP) - the ability to identify adversary and implement the necessary processes to hinder attacks.

This article tells us about the importance of having a good cybersecurity. There are some big hospitality companies like Marriott and Hilton which have revealed that many cyberattackes compromised personal information for many guests and that cybersecurity has to be improved.

This article talks about how Marriot international and Amadeus partnered up to have the CRS and property management come together to create a community platform. This partnership will help hotels capitalize direct booking. It also can be applied to the guest reservation system.

This article discusses a recent cyber-attack on ICH that is believed to have been a ransomware attack. It's stated that hospitality is the 8th most targeted sector for ransomware as of recently. The recent attack on ICH 4,053 users and 15 employees were compromised, which is actually far less than their last attack in 2016 that effected 1,175 properties. Hotels must take as much precaution as possible against cyber attacks because not only does it decrease their bookings, but they can also be charged millions in fines for information breaches.

PCI compliance is a crucial and necessary set of guidelines that all hotels must follow. The Payment Card Industry Security Standard was created in 2006 and outlines rules regarding accepting, storing, and/or processing card information. These rules were put into place to protect consumers sensitive information. For example, in 2014 Marriott hotels was attacked and 300 million guests information was compromised. This attack led to new regulations being put into place, the Payment Services Directive 2 (PSD2). These regulations take into account international customers and enhanced guidelines for sensitive data.

On August 17th, 2012 Forbes Magazine wrote about Onity's security breach with hotels room doors that affected over 4 million hotel rooms across the globe. During a security conference, Cody Brocious, a program developer showed how simply he could insert a device into the data port to access hotel rooms. The cost of this device cost him $50 to build. The company responded to the security issues with a two part resolution. To avoid hackers from accessing the data so easily, Onity will be issuing the hotels new caps that will cover the data case on the doors. Onity is also protecting the equipment with obscure torx screws that will enable the hackers from accessing the panel. The second fix is more costly and challenging for Onity. The company has created a new circuit board and firmware that allegedly fix the security issue. However, Onity is asking hotel owners to pay a nominal fee to help with the fix. Onity could face many financial hurtle through the recall of the 4 million door locks that need to be replaced. The security and safety of many travelers are at risk if this issue is not resolved. Companies such as Marriott International, Starwood Hotels and Hilton utilize Onity's key system across the globe (http://en.onity.com/companyprofile/Pages/Hotel-Resort-Worldwide-References.aspx). These companies won't be affected by the cost associated with the fix; however the small and independently owned and operated hotels will be affected. The question Brocious wrote on his blog and I also ask myself; how many hotels will refrain from properly fixing the issue? Are the major corporations such as Marriott and Starwood given each hotel a deadline to complete such project? Since neither company owns the properly, they simply operate the hotel, how much money and how quickly are owner willing to get this issue resolved?

Why invest in mid-range/ business hotels? Marriott hotel administration is expanding its business and deciding to grow up to 105,000 rooms worldwide by 2014. Their project is to open one hotel in china per month for the next 3 years to a total of 100 properties across 40 Chinese markets. Marriott plans to hire 30,000 employees by the end of 2015 in china. This will be a great stimulus for the Chinese economy.

Today, going green is one of the defining movements of our time. The movement to conserve and replenish the earth's resources continues to build momentum and meeting planners and suppliers are doing their share to advance the cause. It is really a very good phenomenon that some major hotel chains are making to help planners organize eco-friendly meetings and events. This article talked about what the major hotel chains are doing to support eco-friendly meetings. 1. Toronto-based Fairmont Hotels & Resorts' Eco-Meet program. 2. Hilton International has declared that all of its 3,600 properties will be using its carbon calculator program, which the system analyzes 200 operational practices, including housekeeping, paper product usage, food waste and transportation, and determines their environmental impact in terms of energy and water use, waste production and carbon output. 3. Hyatt Hotels & Resorts' Meet and Be Green initiative, offers clients a 3 percent rebate on qualifying charges on the final pretax master bill for following the chain's 10-point green guidelines. 4. Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants became one of the first hotel chains to offer a dedicated green meetings package brandwide, attracting immediate interest from corporate clients such as Microsoft and Aveda. 5. Marriott has offered green meetings standards across its JW Marriott, Marriott, Renaissance Hotels & Resorts and Courtyard by Marriott brands. 6. Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide recently announced it would implement its new Sustainable Meeting Practices (SMPs). According to those hotel chains , by following the Eco-Meet guidelines, groups can save up to thoughts of plastic water bottles, aluminum cans, writing pads, pencils, paper cups and other else per year.

This article helps us to better understand the information systems being utilized, why they are important and what difficulties they bring about. In the Hospitality Industry, customer service is put at the top of the list of must haves. With customer service comes knowing information about your customer and without Information Technology services put in place, these expectations will never be met. Having a computer based IT is crucial because it allows the employees to work more proficiently which in turn creates a better experience for the guest. Multiple hospitality leaders have been applying fully Internet based technological systems within their organizations. IHG group has implemented an easy to use system so it is simple for every position within the hotel. For a company like IHG with over 500 hotels, it was imperative they eliminated the manual system to provide better quality control. Because of this system they can get better quality products at lower costs. Although this new system is much more user friendly, the overall cost involved is still not confirmed but this system is still predicted to have positive impacts long term. For example at Marriott Hotels, they use a company website, POS Micros, Property Management System and Central reservation system just to name a few. On top of stellar service and quick/ easy information submissions, guests are looking to have the best technology at their disposal to use. Things like computers with full internet access, printers and fax machines to make sure they can still be functional while displaced. An advanced system called MARSHA is being used as a reservation system and stores the rewards system information for Marriot guests. Micros-Opera is a popular property based system provider and has become common within the hotel industry. Vendors usually use this since it gives them the ability to connect to other vendor's applications. MICROS 9700 HMS is the most popularly used point of sale system. There are some

This blog article relates to the merger between Mariott and Starwood Hotels. For decades Starwood hotels had been investing in a technology transformation program to move Starwood properties from their old mainframe technology to a more modern reservation system called Valhalla. Valhalla is an all in one system and manages reservations, call center, eCommerce Web, Property management and Rev mgmt systems. One would expect Mariott to migrate their current properties to Starwoods PMS however this was not the case. After the merger Mariott announced that they would be migrating the 1200 acquired Starwood properties to their reservation system. I don't understand why Mariott would do this as this would be a backward move. It's a bit strange because their purchase price for Starwood factored in a $500 million Starwood IP technology value which was not owned by Mariott.

After 500 million guests had their information opened to hackers, hotels security have been in question. Many brands like Marriott prioritize security. However, the cost to keep up with the advance in technology provide a challenge at times.

email security is a good defense against cyberthreats in the hospitality space because it not only helps fend off attacks but also sensitizes staff to risks in cyberspace and provides them with basic awareness and education.

Mariott learned the hard way about the importance of cyber security! By inquiring a hotel for their boutique hotel line, it wasn't until after the fact that they realized that the hotel had been hit by a huge data breach in their system. Luckily, Marriott has the resources and reputation to deal with the issue. But a lot of these smaller hotels do not, so the damage to them could be catastrophic.

"The hotel industry is at risk of attacks, such as malware and ransomware, where criminals try to either steal data or exploit organizations" Majority of threats come through over email, often in malicious links. deploying email security is a good defense against cyberthreats in the hospitality space because it helps fend off attacks.

This article talks about how the hospitality industry has become more susceptible to cyber-attacks. Hotel companies like the Marriott have faced costly fraudulent cases online and have implemented new programs to ensure safety and security.

This article suggests that Facility Managers should keep the door open to new technology. It gives an example of Marriott Hotel to demonstrate this point. Moreover, this article shows us several ways to evaluating new options. This methods are shared by  managers with great experience.

With the ecological environment changes, the general trend of hotel is going to green, which included hotel sewage treatment, boiler dust emission, waste heat emission, the kitchen for the discharge of atmospheric pollutants. Not only the hoteliers require themselves pursuing green but also hope their guests could see that. Most of hotels have already taken action. Such as, Marriott International stop delivering newspapers to guests' rooms, Starwood has eliminated thin shampoo bottles, instead installing dispensers in showers at its Element and Aloft hotels. We are glad to see the hoteliers dedicated to protecting the natural environment.